Department of Microbiology, Al-Kindi College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq

Abstract

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease unclassified (IBDU) is considered to be an aberrant immune response with loss of tolerance to many antigens. Objective: This paper tries to address whether there is any value to test for auto-antibodies in such patients. Methods: 60 patients with inflammatory bowel disease unclassified participated in the study. Auto-antibodies to nuclear antigen, intestinal goblet cell, exocrine part of pancreatic acinar cells, perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic, cytoplasmic antineutrophil cytoplasmic and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were tested and compared to 20 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and 30 healthy controls matched for age and sex. Results: There was a significant difference (p=0.000) between patients and control group in anti-exocrine part of pancreatic acinar cells, perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic and Saccharomyces cerevisiae auto-antibodies. There was also a significant difference between IBDU and UC patients in the auto-antibodies directed against intestinal goblet cells, (p=0.000) exocrine part of pancreas (p=0.000) and anti Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody (p=0.000). Conclusions: Due to the autoimmune nature of indeterminate colitis, involvement of some antigens from gastrointestinal tract or the bile system in the initiation of this disease is likely.